Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday night provided an overview of the key priorities that will be in the final fiscal year 2023 state budget. State lawmakers were said to be passing budget bills Thursday night and will continue Friday. “As we make our comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic we are […]
Recent
Eleventh-hour push to prevent changes to state’s bail laws
On April 6, 2022, Assembly members Latrice Walker, Harvey Epstein, Zohran K. Mamdani, and Marcela Mitaynes were joined by multiple criminal justice reform organizations in an eleventh hour protest of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed changes to bail law. “We stand here to say we are against a dangerous proposal creeping […]
Senate passes bill requiring potable water testing at all NY state parks
Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris announced the Senate has passed his bill (S.1256) that would require state and local parks to test water fixtures for lead and make repairs to any deemed unsafe. The bill requires that park staff must test potable water every three years to determine if there […]
New statewide ad campaign promotes responsible cannabis use
The state Office of Cannabis Management announced a a new public service campaign meant to promote safe and responsible cannabis use. “Cannabis Conversations” is the first public health education campaign on Cannabis Law of its kind in New York. The campaign will feature a wide array of advertisements and messages […]
Bail and justice reforms at center of ongoing budget negotiations
An intense debate around bail reform has thrown a wrench into the budget negotiation process as New York prepares to finalize its $216 billion state budget for fiscal year 2023. New York state passed a bail reform law in 2019 in an effort to ensure that race or access to […]
Publisher’s Corner: Republicans will play the bail reform card to the hilt
Speaker Carl Heastie, who leads the New York State Assembly, seems to have a definite view concerning “bail reform” that appears to differ from that of the governor, Kathy Hochul. A little background: the Democrats got their behinds kicked in the last election over the issue. You will recall that […]
Bill would require employers to pay minimum wage for tipped workers
A coalition of tipped workers and state legislators are calling for a One Fair Wage policy in the state budget, which would guarantee a set minimum wage for restaurant servers and other tipped workers in the service industries. On March 9, 2022, Senators Alessandra Biaggi and Brad Holyman and Assembly […]
SUNY professors, students seeking an additional $250 million in final state budget
On March 5, 2022, the United University Professions held a rally at SUNY New Paltz calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers to increase state funding to the SUNY system as a part of the upcoming state budget. The rally was a part of the UUP’s “week of action,” […]